Despite the fact that there have been many changes over time in the way anorexia is viewed on a societal, cultural and medical level, the condition remains an enigma. For centuries, descriptions and interpretations of the condition - some conflicting, some complementary - have followed on from one another. This illness of mind and body resists any exclusively biological or exclusively psychoanalytical approach. The body, which becomes a battleground, bears the brunt of this relationship and dependency disorder.